'Sexting' rage among teens could lead to criminal charges in some cases

GENESEE COUNTY, Michigan -- It was supposed to be a joke -- like these types of explicit photos usually are.

Now, though, Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton is considering criminal charges against a teen who allegedly had an inappropriate photo on a cellphone.

Leyton declined to give details about the case, which is just the latest of several cases of teens using their cellphones to capture nude or partially nude photos of themselves or others. It's called "sexting," and it's become the new buzz among worried parents.

Leyton said the trend is especially common among high school students, who think the act is innocent because they consent to it.

The photos could bring any number of child pornography-related charges if the teen is not yet 18 -- possession of child sexually abusive material is a four-year felony; distributing it could mean seven years in prison and creating the photo can be punished with a 20-year sentence.

"I'm not looking to criminalize each and every person who does this," Leyton said. "But there are some instances where we would issue criminal charges.

Kindra Person, 17, said she has not sexted, but the Flint teen said she didn't think sexting was a big deal until she found out it was a crime.

Flint Journal extrasSexting statistics

How many teens say they have sent/posted nude or seminude
pictures or video of themselves?

• 20 percent of teens overall

• 22 percent of teen girls

• 18 percent of teen boys

• 11 percent of young teen girls (ages 13-16)

Source: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen & Unplanned Pregnancy

Prevention

Tips to help parents talk to their kids about sex and technology:

• Talk to your kids. Make sure your kids fully understand that messages or pictures they send over the Internet or their cellphones are not truly private or anonymous. Also make sure they know that others might forward their pictures or messages to people they do not know or want to see them.

• Consider limiting cellphone and computer use. Consider, for example, telling your teen to leave the phone on the kitchen counter when they're at home and to take the laptop out of their bedroom before they go to bed, so they won't be tempted to log on or talk to friends at 2 a.m.

• Be aware of what your teens are posting. Check out your teen's MySpace, Facebook and other public online profiles from time to time. This isn't snooping -- this is information your kids are making public.

Source: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen & Unplanned Pregnancy

"At first I didn't think anything of it. I know people that have done it," the Flint teen said. "I was watching Oprah and I saw how it was ruining these kids' lives.

"Certain people should be charged, but it all depends on the circumstances," Florence Person said. "If she had a boyfriend and was in love with him and she did that for him, that's between them. It's personal."

Leyton said the current case involves a teen who showed off a racy photo on a cellphone. The photo wasn't forwarded, just shown from the phone.

"Turning a juvenile into a criminal is a big step," Leyton said. "I'd rather get them back on the right track. If I have to charge them as a criminal to do that, then I will."

This isn't the first time these types of cases have surfaced, although they appear to have rarely, if ever, resulted in criminal charges before.

More could be on the way, though.

The Grand Blanc Police Department plans to turn over evidence to prosecutors as early as next week after investigating a case at Grand Blanc High School in which a photo of a topless female student was forwarded from cellphone to cellphone.

"We put our paperwork together and we wanted another source to look at it," said Lt. Dennis Baker of the Grand Blanc Police Department. "If they issue a warrant, we'll go from there. If not, it's done."

Seven students were suspended in that case, including the girl in the photo who took the picture herself

Baker didn't have much to say about the sexting trend, but wants kids and adults to know that "once you hit the send button, you can never get it back."

One 16-year-old student climbed into the ceiling at Holly High School after a gym class, crawled over to the girls' locker room and took six cellphone videos over a three-day period this month.

Only one of the videos had a girl in it, and she was not identifiable, said police, who investigated the incident.

The result: One in five teens say they've sexted even though the majority know it could be a crime.

"You can't find a cellphone out there without a camera on it," said Jessica Sheets, spokeswoman for The National Campaign. "Eventually, teens figured out you could take pictures of more than just your dog."

Sexting has become sort of an epidemic, Sheets said, with consequences teens aren't aware of.

"Doing something like this may seem fun and flirty, but it could follow you for the rest of your life," Sheets said. "You may think you're sending a picture to your boyfriend, but in actuality, you're sending it to the whole sophomore class.

"It's something that should be kept private," said Maurice, 19. "It's not something you should be sending over the phone, through e-mail or anything else."

Pam Flores, a mother of two middle schoolers, worries though that the legal system might punish foolish teens too severely.

"If I caught my kids doing it, I'd be taking their cellphones away, they'd be grounded and any other punishment I could think," Flores said of Grand Blanc. "But making teens register as sex offenders is going too far."